


I Need to Find You Before I Lose Hope

by Cakesandwaffles



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Baby Yoda is sad, Corin is running away, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, they are ooc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:19:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22270180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cakesandwaffles/pseuds/Cakesandwaffles
Summary: When Corin ran away, Din was left heart broken. In what seems to be the longest game of cat and mouse, will these two figure out that they belong together?
Relationships: Baby Yoda & Corin the Stormtrooper (Rescue and Regret) & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV) & Corin the Stormtrooper (Rescue and Regret), Corin the Stormtrooper (Rescue and Regret)/The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 136





	1. I See Your Face and Wonder

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyIrina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyIrina/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Family and Home](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21758992) by [LadyIrina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyIrina/pseuds/LadyIrina). 



> Thank you for the prompt Discord group!

Din sighed heavily as he crossed another planet off the map, Corin wasn’t here either. The shrieking of the child could be heard through 3 metal doors. He must have found something of Corin’s again. Din stood up slowly as he walked to go find his charge. Finding the child was easy now-a-days. His constant screaming and crying led everyone to them. Even this planets CPS. 

“Ad’ika, please, calm down.” Din picked up the child and cradled him within his arms, gently holding him against his beskar plated chest. The child held something tightly in his grasp, crying even harder now that the object was obtained,

“What do you have here?” Din pulled the object from the child's hands, ignoring the screaming that somehow got louder. It was a leather strap from one of Corin’s boots. 

“I guess you can have that,” Din handed it back to the child “I miss him too, Ad’ika.” The cries slowly lessened as the child gripped the strap close. For the first time in two months since Corin ran, the child was quiet. 

After the big rescue mission, once Corin was all healed, he ran from Din the first chance he got, leaving a note saying that he wasn’t worth everything Din has sacrificed for him. His heart had broken, and it isn’t healing. Bringing the child up to the cockpit with him, Din started thinking about his next flight path. 

\-----

Hours of flight later, they land on Laidun, a snowy, ice-filled planet. One Corin would love. Bundling up the child in a warm blanket, he heads out to find the nearest inn. 

The inn is run by a little old lady, who spoke with a soft high pitched voice. Her dress, spattered with flour, gave Din the best room, and a plate of cookies for his little one, stating that

“Such a hard working father deserves good things! And it seems that you’ve been down on your luck.” Not wanting to offend her, he made his way to his room. True to her word, the room was large with plenty of space for the child to roam. Locking the door, and removing all his beskar, save his helmet, Din lays on the bed holding the child against his chest. 

Not a second after he got comfortable, Din heard a knock on the door, and a familiar voice calling out to him. Opening the door without a moment to spare, Din comes face to face with Corin. Blue and brown eyes widening as they take in the others appearance. No one moved, afraid they would break the moment. All but one. 

The baby waddled up to Corin and grabbed his legs, cooing happily and trying to bring him inside the room. Unable to deny the child, Corin yields as he walks, extremely quiet. 

“We looked for you every day. Why’d you leave?” Din broke the silence as he turned to face Corin. Corin slowly looked up at Din, his face unreadable. 

“I have my reasons,” Corin walked towards the second bed, “And the reasons are mine.” Corin sat down and set the child on his lap. Din remained quiet and sat down on his own bed, weary from the day he’s had and the lack of sleep.

“Are you staying?” He asked as he slowly descended into sleep despite his reluctance. He didn’t hear Corin’s response as his eyes closed.

\-----

The screaming woke him up. The ear piercing, heart shattering screams from his child. Shooting up from the bed, Din whipped his head around to see no one in the room with him and the child. He sighed, then tensed up and jumped off the bed.

“Corin? Corin!” Din wrapped the child up in his arms as he bolted to the bathroom door. Corin wasn’t there either. His heart broke as he realized what it meant. Corin left again. Din felt a gentle breeze blow past him, causing him to turn his head towards the open window. 


	2. If You Truly Want To Be With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din deals with some of the aftermath left behind by Corin

Din rocked the child as he walked on the dry sands of Tral Eken, looking for the bounty hunter he hired. Putting a puck out on Corin wasn’t an easy decision to make, but one he had to if he wanted the child to stop crying. Ever since Corin ran from the inn, Din hasn’t been able to find hair nor hide from him, and Din needed Corin. For one, the child hasn’t slept a wink since Corin ran, fearing that Din would leave him next. 

It was even harder finding a description for Corin that wouldn't get him killed. So, he had to get creative. ‘Corin Djarin, 5ft 10in, 130lbs with dark hair and blue eyes. Wanted alive for desertion of spouse and child.’ Din stops and wonders what Corin would have thought about that. Would it make him never wanna see Din again? Or would he be fine with it? Din shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Spotting a figure in the distance, Din pulled out his binoculars to get a better look. It was the bounty hunter, tied up and gagged. Din, as calmly as he could, walked over to the bounty hunter and pulled the gag off his mouth. The hunter looked at Din. 

“That’s one hell of a husband” Din’s cheeks flushed, but before he could respond, the hunter passed out. Great. 

\-----

Getting the hunter to a medic was easy, what wasn’t easy was paying for the medical bills. Going back to the Razor Crest, Din was lost in thought. Corin broke that guy's nose, arm, and ankle to avoid being caught. Maybe he didn’t want to be found. Or, maybe he found out how Din feels for him, got disgusted, and bolted the first chance he got. Din wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, he wasn’t the easiest guy to get along with. 

“Stop right there!” A blaster was pointed at Din just as he was drifting further into his thoughts. He looked up to see three people wearing matching uniforms. Just what he needed. 

“Put the child down, and you won’t get hurt.” Confusion was Din’s first reaction, then understanding. Someone must have thought that he kidnapped his charge. Afterall, the kid was still crying. He never really stopped since Corin left that second time. 

“Relax, he’s my kid. He just misses his other dad,” He sighed heavily, “And so do I.” The blaster lowered a bit as the officer processed the information. 

“Do you have any identification on you?” 

“No, I never do. It’s inconvenient.” The officers whispered to each other before facing Din again.

“We need you to come with us.” 

Great. What a wonderful way to end his stressful day.

\-----

Three hours later, Din was ready to scream. Separating him and the child only made him scream louder than before and they kept asking questions they had already asked. He needed to take his kid’s mind off Corin, before it gets them Imperial attention. Looks like they’re going to the closest, least populated planet nearby to lay low. 


	3. And I know If You Don’t

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corin finds them this time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Din is ooc, sorry not sorry

The sleepy planet of Vendrodeen was nothing to sneeze at, but it did have an amazing market once you found it. Din and the child had been traveling for a week now, having given up on finding Corin. Right now, getting the child to stop crying and go to sleep is the priority. 

Wandering through the bustling market with a crying child was getting him dirty look after dirty look as if he could force the child to stop crying. At this point, Din wanted to cry with the child, but he wouldn’t do that. Not yet at least. 

Finding a toy maker wasn’t hard. Nor was convincing her to help him find an appropriate toy for his charge. However, every toy he was shown seemed to make him even more upset than before. Thankfully, the shop owner was understanding.

“Not every child can be pleased by a normal toy. Is he missing someone? Like a parent or a sibling?” 

“He’s missing his other parent, it’s been a few months since he’s seen him.”

“Tell you what, I’ll make him a doll that looks like his other dad, provided you describe him, and you can have it for free. You probably haven’t been able to work with him crying like that.” The shopkeep smiled.

\-----

Corin wandered the bustling market, hood up and head down. He couldn’t believe that Din put a bounty out on him. Corin’s eye twitched as he thought about it. Couldn’t Din see that Corin brought him and the child nothing but trouble? 

Corin froze. He looked around for that horrible shrieking noise. Someone’s kid was not having a good day and was trying to make the whole planet aware of that fact. Picking up his pace with purpose, Corin decided he would try to help calm the kid down, if the kids parents let him, of course. 

\-----

The child started to squirm in Din’s grip, trying to get out. Unbeknownst to Din, it was because the child could feel his other father in the market.

“Ad’ika, what are you doing? Calm down!” Din struggled to get a grip on his kid as he squirmed. Looking up to see what had his child seen, Din froze, almost dropping the child in the process. Walking up to him and the child, was Corin.

\-----

Seemingly in a trance, Corin walked up to Din and the child. Carefully he picked up the baby and pulled him to his chest, feeling like his heart would burst out of his chest. The child immediately stopped crying and clung to Corin’s neck, instantly falling asleep. If Corin was paying attention, he would have heard the entire market breathe a collective sigh of relief. Din stepped closer to Corin, his step almost faltering, like he thought it was a dream. 

\-----

It had to be a dream. It wasn’t really Corin, was it? Din had so many questions running through his head. 

“Why did you leave? Where have you been? Are we not enough? Corin, why did you come back?” Din’s voice was heavy with emotion. “Don’t you know that I need you?” Corin looked away.

“Why? I’m just a burden, I bring bad luck.”

“Corin, cyar’ika, you have never been a burden.” Din stepped closer.

“You got badly hurt because a bounty hunter was after me!” Corin was nearly in tears.

“Nothing will hurt more than losing you.”

“Your life has been nothing but turmoil ever since you saved mine…” Corin’s voice broke as he grew quieter. 

“I would do it all again, after all, that was part of the adventure.” Din’s voice grew softer as he drew towards Corin.

“You can’t mean that, no one wants me around.” Corin glanced at his leather boots that were caked with dirt and dust. He kicked the toe of his boot into the ground.

“When it comes to you, Corin, I mean every word. You mean more to me than you’ll ever know. If you’ll let me, I’d like to show you as best I can.” Din touches his helmet and looks Corin straight on.

“I’d take this off, right now if it meant you’ll stay with us.” Corin’s eyes grew wide as he processed what Din was saying. 

“Let’s discuss this elsewhere, before you do something you might regret.” Corin reached out one hand and tugged Din along.


	4. It Would Kill Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din and Corin make up

Corin weaved past people, going in a seemingly random direction. His steps were quick and precise, as if he walked this path many times. His eyes darted everywhere, never staying focused on one spot for more than a minute. Corin was nervous, Din could tell that much by the way he was acting. Looking behind himself, Din realized that they were going farther away from the Razor Crest. Much farther than he was comfortable with.

“Hey, Corin? Where are we going?” Corin’s grip on Din’s wrist tightened slightly.

“Somewhere more private than a market.” Corin’s voice held no room for argument, not that Din would start an argument with him right now. After a few more minutes of walking in silence, they came upon an old wooden building. Corin headed straight for it, his steps confident and sure. 

The building looked completely different on the inside than it had on the outside. The floors were clean and polished, chairs and furniture pristine and plush looking, and floral arrangements were everywhere, making the building smell like a mix of a sweet Hibiscus and Gardenia. 

An old man walked out of the back room, smiling brightly when he saw Corin. Hurriedly, he hobbled over to him, smiling like Corin had brought peace to the whole universe.

“Korbri! Welcome back my boy! Did you get what I asked for?” The man was beaming up at Corin.

“Of course I did, I wouldn't disappoint you, Mr. Dudosm.” Corin let go of Din’s arm to reach a bundle tied to his belt. It was small, but filled with something hard, judging from the sound.

“My boy, you never fail to make this old man smile. Was it much? Did I give you enough credits?” The man continued talking as he took the bag and opened it. 

“It was the same price as always, you worry too much. I wish you’d let me do more for you.” Corin’s smile faded a bit as he spoke.

“Nonsense! You have done plenty enough around here for me!” As if he had just noticed Din, the man jumped a little. “You rascal! Korbri! You didn’t tell me you were bringing someone back!” The man looked at the sleeping child. “And with a child! Why, soon you might be sitting next to me in the retirement home!” The man chuckled at his little joke.

“Please, Mr. Dudosm, we both know you won’t retire. This is Din, a friend from a while ago. I’m sorry to cut this short, but he and I have some things to discuss. If you’ll excuse us.” Corin gently grabbed Din’s wrist again, and started to lead him away.

“Of course! Take care my boy!” Mr. Dudosm waved and hobbled to the back room, smiling and muttering about how great of a kid Corin was.

\-----

Once they reached Corin's room, and were safely inside, Din’s wrist was let go. Looking around, Din noticed the room was well used. 

“How long have you been here?” Din rubbed his wrist and glanced at Corin to see him making a crib for the child out of blankets and a dresser drawer. 

“About two standard weeks. Mr. Dudosm needed a lot of help with the upkeep. I have a free stay as long as I do what he can’t.” Corin set the makeshift bed on the ground and started to pull the child off of him. Din walked over and kneeled next to Corin.

Once the baby was set down, both Din and Corin reached for the blanket set aside to cover the kid with. Their hands touched, causing them to look up. Din removed his hand and brought both hands up to his helmet.

“Din...Don’t...Not for me…” Corin could barely speak. Din didn’t respond and instead lifted the helmet off his head. Blue eyes met dark brown. Everything was still. Din grabbed Corin’s spare hand and pulled it up to his face, letting it rest there for a moment before moving his head to rest in Corin’s palm.

Corin’s breath hitched as he watched Din close his eyes, still reeling from seeing his face. Din re-opened his eyes and leaned close, putting his forehead on Corin’s.

“Can I kiss you, Corin?” Din’s voice was quiet, like he was fearing rejection, but his eyes held Corin’s with no intention of breaking eye contact. Corin gently nodded, too stunned to say anything. Din’s face grew closer till there was a gentle brush of lips on lips. 

Ever so gently, Din pulled back and looked deeply into Corin’s eyes. Corin moved his hand from Din’s cheek to the back of his neck. Corin pulled him back in for another kiss, much stronger than the first. Pulling back, Corin takes a deep breath as Din speaks.

“I love you, Corin.” Corin smiles gently.

“I love you too, Din.”

\-----

The next day, Corin packs up his few belongings and says his goodbyes to Mr. Dudosm. He was sad to see Corin go, but was happy that Corin had found his family.

Walking through the market hand in hand gained them no negative attention from the crowds. Then they heard someone call out to Din. Looking over, they see that the one who called out was the toymaker from before. He ran up, almost out of breath.

“You forgot that we made a deal. Here.” The toymaker pushed a Corin look-a-like into Din’s spare hand and ran off. Shrugging, Din continued walking, listening to Corin chuckle at the little doll.


End file.
